Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-03-05
Getting at It's True Inwardneas

Getting at Its True InWardneas.
The testimony now being taken in
the contest for the seat in Congress
from this district is developing some
very extraordinary facts in connection
with the registl alton in this county
last fall. 1t will be remembered that
Chas. H. Dunsmoor, the County
Clerk, after having first given official
notice that the registration would
close on the I'd of October, sent out
notices on the 2O.h of the same month
to deputies appointed by him to reg
lister voters until the 9th of October.
The Democrats, having accidentally
discovered the proof-sheet of circu-
lar got up by General J. r. Briefly
Chairman of the Republican Conn
ty Committee, candidate for the Leg
islature and Deputy County Clerk
just appointed, advising Republicans
throughout the county that further
registrations were to be made, they
at once induced Assessor Bilderrain,
q Democratic official, to also appoint
deputies for the purpose OF register
ing voters up to the 9th OF October.
A number of these deputies brought
in names to the County Clerks office,
and it was supposed that they
were being placed on the sup
Elementary register. But, as the
eleventh hour, Mr.. Dunsmoor refused
to register the names for the reason
that the Democratic deputies ap-
pointed by Mr.. 'Bilderrain had failed
TO file their oaths OF appointment
with him. 1t was the 2Sth before
this trap was sprung by the County
Clerk, notwithstanding names had
been filed with him for regis
tration for several days by these
same Democratic deputies. One
would suppose that if the appoint
ments of the deputies were invalid
until they had qualified before the
County Clerk, and that consequently
le voters, whose oatbs they were
taking, were doing a vain work, this
fact would have been made known to
the deputies before it was too late to
remedy the technical defect. But no
such intimation was made until, as
we said above, the eleventh hour had
arri we'd. Now it is plain that Mr..
Dun nsmoor knew from the beginning
that the Democratic deputies were
proceeding irregularly; if not, he
would have registered the names as
fast as they were brought in. On the
other hand if he did know at the start
of the irregularity of which he
availed himself ultimately for a
party advantage, he stands IN the
position of a man who deliberately
used his official position to disfran-
chise voters because they were not OF
his party. In the light of these facts
the admission made yesterday by
Mr.. Dunsmoor, under oath, is not
only of great importance to the con-
testant in this case, but OF positive in
terest to every elector in the county.
The question was put to Mr.. Duns-
moor, whether, if the deputies, who
had failed to file their appointments
with him, had been Republicans,
would he have informed them at once
of the defect in their qualification to
re ais'er voters? 10 this question he
that he would have done
SO. Then comes the inevitable cor
ollary, that because they were
Democrats he did not do so.
Now, this testimony of the official
whose act disiranchised some one
hundred and ninety Democratic |
voters, ought to be conclusive
of the character and fagrancy OF the
transaction. 1t bears the sign and
i'm press of intentional wrong-doing
ON its face. 1t shows that official
place was OF only made subservient
to the contamination OF great out
rage upon the purity Of the ballot,
but it stamps as conspiracy, to
compass party success by force, every